48. The State
Pony was curled up against me, one hand gripping my shirt in his sleep, and I rubbed his back, blinking at the ceiling and listening to Darry moving around in the kitchen. He'd woken me up earlier, getting back into bed from wherever he'd been. I hadn't asked, but something seemed to have shaken him up, so I'd just stayed close until he'd fallen asleep, then I'd managed to get another hour or two before Darry had woken up and had started moving around in the other room. It sounded like he was making eggs.
Darry had to go to work today, but I was off. Steve had wanted to go out, but I didn't want to leave Pony. He'd been real good to Ponyboy since he'd come home, trying to include him in everything. He hadn't said anything about him tagging along to the drag races, even asking if he wanted to ride along for one of the races. Darry would have let him no matter what kind of shape he was in…heck, I don't think he'd want me doing it either. Still, it was nice of Steve to offer. And Pony had been real surprised…I think he was waiting for Steve to be a jerk but I doubted that would happen anytime soon. Steve had missed my little brother. And I knew he was worried about him, since he was so skinny and didn't look too great.
Last night had been a lot of fun. It had been good to get out of the house, especially with Ponyboy along. We'd kept a pretty close eye on him, but Johnny had seemed to have it covered, the two of them walking together and talking quietly about things I couldn't hear. They'd seemed fine, though. New York had changed Johnny for the better, it seemed. He didn't flinch every time someone looked at him anymore, and he walked with his hands in his pockets, grinning easily without looking around to see if anyone was gonna jump him. He was more at ease…and I had a feeling that if something happened, him and Ponyboy would be able to hold their own.
I was still worried about Pony though. I guessed I'd always worry. He was my baby brother, and it was my job to look after him. And I knew sometimes he thought I was overprotective. But at the moment, I felt like I had the right to be. I kept remembering how he'd looked at the doctor's office. He hadn't wanted to take off his shirt. I'd seen Ponyboy without a shirt almost every day of his life. It wasn't like he was modest about it or nothing. But the second he'd taken it off, I'd known why he didn't want me seeing.
The bruises were faded purple and brown, starting up under his armpit and covering his whole right side, wrapping around his back and probably covering the side I couldn't see from where I stood by the wall. But that hadn't been the worst part. We'd all been beaten up in rumbles, and sure these were worse, and yeah, I'd been upset that he hadn't told me…but it had been the welts on his back that were the worst…they weren't red anymore. Just raised and paler than the skin around them…almost gray looking. There were so many of them, from the base of his neck to the top of his jeans. Darry hadn't seen them. He hadn't looked. He'd seen my face, though, and that had been close enough. He'd gone real pale, looking down at his feet instead of meeting my eyes, getting that look on his face where he didn't want anyone to know what he was thinking.
But I'd known what he was thinking. The same thing I was…we wanted to kill that guy.
Pony's ribs stuck out, he was so thin, and he looked like a good shove might do him in. I tightened my arm around him, still rubbing his back. We'd get him to eat more food, maybe some of those protein bars Darry ate back in high school, and he'd be fine. The bruises would fade. We all got bruised up sometimes. And the scars that covered his arms and the scars that covered his back…well…they'd fade. Right? They'd fade and we wouldn't have to think about any of it anymore.
Somehow I didn't think it was going to be that easy.
Darry dropped something in the kitchen and Pony mumbled beside me, rolling over and moving closer. I held him tight and he settled, taking a deep breath and sighing, his head against my shoulder. I remembered the days when he was gone again. I remembered waking up morning after morning, reaching out to shake my brother awake. I remembered jerking awake in the middle of the night, worried something was wrong or that he was having a nightmare, only to find he wasn't there.
"Soda? You up?" Darry asked, poking his head in and scratching at his head.
"Yeah," I muttered, my arm tight around Pony.
"He have any nightmares?" he asked, lowering his voice and crossing his arms, looking over at our brother.
"Nope. Slept through the night."
"You staying home today?"
He hadn't asked me to stay home, but I knew he wanted me to keep an eye on Pony.
He didn't have to ask.
"Yeah, I'll stick close by. Steve will probably come over if he isn't still here."
"He's on the couch. Johnny split a few minutes ago." He reached out, ruffling Pony's hair and our brother groaned, swatting at him. Darry chuckled, ruffling my hair too. "Shake a leg, kiddo," he called to Ponyboy. "Breakfast is ready."
"Breakfast?"
"Yeah, kiddo. Breakfast. You know, first meal of the day. Usually eggs. Sometimes cake?"
"Cake?"
"Yeah, that got your attention." Darry grinned, tugging on Pony's arm, and I laughed, rolling out of the way.
He was different with Pony now, and I was glad. Before, I felt like I'd spent half of my time trying to convince Pony that Darry didn't hate him, and the other half trying to get Darry to ease up on him a little. I didn't know if it was because he was grateful to have him back, or because Pony was kind of different now, but I sure was glad either way.
"I made eggs but we got cake too." He shook Pony who tried to swat him away again, but missed since his eyes were closed. "Come on. You can have both. Wake up." He shook him again and Pony opened his eyes, managing a bleary glare before taking Darry's hand and letting him pull him up. Darry patted him on the back, an arm around his shoulder leading him into the kitchen while I jumped into the shower.
When I got out, Pony and Steve were both at the table, both eating pieces of chocolate cake, their eggs untouched. I grabbed Pony's plate of eggs, adding jelly and taking a bite. I'd eat cake later. "Where'd Johnny go?" I wondered.
Steve shrugged. "Said he had somewhere to be."
"Where's he been hanging out, Pony?" I asked, kicking him under the table. Pony swallowed his cake and kicked me back.
"Looking for a job, I guess."
"Didn't invite you along, did he?"
Pony gave me a look as he took his empty plate to the sink. He gave Steve another look when he dropped his plate into the sink, splashing my brother with soapy water. I stepped in between them before Pony could retaliate and end Steve's friendly streak. Pony rolled his eyes but grinned a little and finished washing the dishes, and I was glad he wasn't really mad.
"One more year?" he asked.
"Maybe wait until you're 17." I ruffled his ungreased hair. "What do you wanna do today?"
He pushed my hand away and tried to straighten it, giving up almost immediately when it just flopped back in his face. "Ain't you and Steve got plans?"
"Glory, Pony, I'm gonna start thinking you don't want to hang out with me anymore." I was playing around, but honestly, I was kind of worried. Pony had been acting weird, not seeming to want me around much. And if that was true…why? Why wouldn't he want me around? Was he hiding something?
Or did he blame me for all this?
He grinned then, that same smile he kept giving me. It was starting to freak me out. "I just figured you and Steve would be doing something. You ain't gotta babysit me, Soda. I'm fine. You and Steve always go out on your days off."
"Not today." I shrugged. "So, what do you wanna do?"
"I don't know. Figured I'd try to find Johnny. Go to the library. Maybe catch up with Two-Bit if he's around."
"Sounds fun. Well…except for the library."
He snorted. "I might not go…I read so much in New York I was getting sick of it."
"You! Sick of reading?" I cried, putting my hand on my heart, the other on my mouth.
He rolled his eyes but the laugh escaped. "You suck at acting, Sodapop."
I punched his shoulder and he pushed me away, so of course I retaliated, trying to get him into a headlock. He managed to wriggle away, making a break for the living room where I got a hold of him, tackling him to the carpet. He fought back hard, but I got him in a headlock, rubbing my knuckles over his head.
"Holler uncle!" I ordered, and he got me in the ribs with his elbow, making me grunt.
"No!"
Steve snorted behind me from Darry's recliner, keeping one eye on us and one on the TV. Pony wasn't as strong as before…before he could usually hold his own in a wrestling match. I could tell from the look in Steve's eye that he knew it too.
"Go on! Holler uncle!" He tried to roll over, but I tightened my grip, laughing when he tried to get a hold of my hair. "Hey! Watch the hair!"
"Why? It's so…" Whatever insult he'd been about to throw at me died on his tongue when there was a knock at our front door.
Immediately I dropped my hold on him, catching him when he would have fallen flat on the floor. He looked up at me, eyes wide and scared, and I pulled myself to my feet, pulling him up too. Steve was on his feet, looking between me and the front door. Creeping to the front of the room, I peeked through the curtains and recoiled at the well-dressed woman with her graying hair in a bun at the back of her head. It was always women in their forties…women our mom's age. Glory I missed our mom so much it made me sick to my stomach. I glanced back at my little brother and shoved that away…no time for that. Instead, I gripped his shoulder.
"Get dressed," I ordered quietly. He obeyed without hesitating and I turned to Steve. "Get Darry."
My buddy nodded, running through the back door.
Taking one last look around the mostly clean living room, I pushed my hair back, thought about my dad, and opened the front door. The woman looked up from her clipboard and gave me a brief, professional smile.
"Good morning. I'm Maura Rhodes. I'm from social services, and I'm here to speak to Darrel Curtis regarding his younger brother…are you Darrel?"
"I'm Sodapop…one of his brothers," I introduced myself, shaking her hand and remembering everything my dad had taught me about being polite to strangers who could ruin your life…come to think of it, I wasn't sure if he'd covered that one. "Darry's at work right now, but I can call and get him home if you need to talk to him right now."
"I would appreciate that Sodapop. Would you mind if I stepped in?"
"Oh, yeah, sure." I stepped back and gestured for her to come in.
"Is your other brother, Ponyboy, home?" she asked, glancing around the living room. To her credit, she didn't look disgusted or anything, just sat down on the sofa when I invited her to.
"Yeah. He's just getting dressed." I looked at our bedroom door, still closed, and hoped that was true. Picking up the phone, I dialed Two-Bit's house, figuring that was the best bet. Our buddy answered.
"Hey, Darry."
"Uh…Sodapop?" he asked, sounding somewhat concerned.
"Yeah, it's me. Hey Darry, the social worker is here. I know you're at work but do you think you could come back to the house?"
"Is Steve getting him? Is Pony okay?" Two-Bit demanded.
"Yeah, Steve is. And Pony's fine. See you in a few."
"Yeah." He hung up on me as our bedroom door was opening and I turned to find Ponyboy stepping out into the hallway, pale as he looked around for me. I hurried over to him, throwing an arm around his shoulder.
"It's okay. Darry's coming. It's gonna be fine." He nodded, following me into the living room. "This is Ponyboy," I introduced him. "Pony, this is Ms. Rhodes."
"Nice to meet you." He held out a hand that she shook, not seeming to notice how sick and scared he looked.
"Hello, Ponyboy. I'll be the primary social worker assigned to your case until you turn eighteen. I have been reviewing your case…have you been able to see a doctor since returning to your brother's care?"
"Yeah…yes ma'am. I went yesterday."
"Good. We can get a copy of your test results from your doctor. Sodpop, would it be possible for me to speak to your brother alone?" I hesitated, knowing I couldn't say no, but not wanting to leave him alone. Not with her.
"Hey, Pone, why don't you get her a glass of water, kiddo? Guess I forgot my manners."
He gave me a doubtful look but nodded. "Uh, sure. Yeah." He headed to the kitchen and I leaned in.
"He went to his social worker. When that man was hurting him…torturing him. He went to her office, and she took him back to that guy's house and he nearly killed him. Now, I know I can't say no…but please…just…he's my baby brother and…" I ran out of words, glancing back at the kitchen, eyes hot, as Ponyboy came back with a glass of ice water. She smiled, taking it and gesturing for him to have a seat in the recliner, which he did, not looking at me.
"I'll just be in the kitchen, Pony," I assured him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He nodded, the scared look wiping off his face, a bland smile taking over. I hated it, but left him in the living room with the stranger, sitting down at our kitchen table and listening to the too-quiet murmuring in the other room.
Knowing it was wrong, I stood up, hovering in the doorway just out of sight and straining to hear. "Ponyboy, I know that your time in foster care was…difficult."
I hate to bite back a snort. Difficult. If it wasn't so terrible and painful and sad, it would be funny.
"I know that you have been let down by your previous social workers and foster families…and that your time in the boy's home was…not ideal."
"It was awful," Ponyboy told her, his voice hard, and I flinched. I hated hearing him sound like that.
"I'm sorry." Her voice softened. "I really am. I've spoken to Officer Charlton on the phone and he told me what your brothers have been going through to get you back…and what you've gone through. I just need to ask you a few questions if that's okay."
"Yeah," he murmured, and I leaned in, trying to hear. I couldn't hear the first question, or his muttered answer, but I heard the next one.
"Ponyboy, do you want to stay with your big brother?"
"Yes," he answered without hesitation. "Please…I just want to stay with Darry."
I closed my eyes, leaning back against the wall and wiping at my eyes. My little brother shouldn't have to beg a social worker to be allowed to stay with his family.
"Let's talk about the incident that led to your being removed from your family last year," she suggested softly, and I moved away from the doorway, sitting back down at the table and wishing Darry would hurry up and get home.
It took him ten minutes, during which I sat in the kitchen and waited for that lady to stop talking to my brother and call me back in. When the front door was thrown open, I jumped up from the table and found Darry in the doorway, Steve and Two-Bit visible out on the sidewalk next to his badly parked truck. His eyes were wide and frightened when they met mine, but the expression dropped as soon as the social worker turned to him.
"Hi. Sorry. Darrel Curtis." He held out a hand, shaking hers.
"Maura Rhodes," she introduced, unphased.
"I wasn't told when you'd be stopping by, but I was able to get an hour off work to meet with you when Sodapop told me you were here."
"I apologize for stopping by unannounced." She gestured to Pony who was still sitting on the couch, hands tight in his lap, jaw clenched. "Your younger brother and I were just talking." He nodded, throwing Pony a worried look. She noticed and gestured toward Darry. "If you'd both like to sit down, I just have a few questions."
I moved to Ponyboy's side and sat down beside him, throwing an arm around my little brother's shoulders. Pony managed to give me a half-hearted grin, and Darry sat on his other side.
"Darrel, are you still employed full-time with the construction company?"
"Uh, yeah. I work there and at a warehouse part-time on weekends."
"And Sodapop, you dropped out of high school and are currently working full-time at a gas station?"
"Yes."
"Darrel, Ponyboy left his foster family before finishing the semester, and with his grades he will need to either repeat two of his classes or we can try to work something out with his new school and see if he can take his final exams. He will need to be enrolled in high school before the next semester, so you will need to go down to the school and speak to the principal, but I don't foresee that being a problem with his record." She flipped through the papers on her clipboard before glancing up with a brief smile. "We will be stopping by, probably once a month for a few months, just to make sure everything is going well. If you have any questions, I'll give you my card and my direct line…" She handed my dumbfounded older brother a card.
"The hearing…" Darry started, taking the card and staring down at it for a moment. "What about…we were supposed to have a hearing."
"Yes." She looked down at her papers once more. "Two weeks from this Saturday is the date that has been decided. Until then, I am recommending that you be given temporary custody over Ponyboy Curtis. I've spoken to Officer Charlton several times over the last few days, and I believe that this is the best place for him."
Usually I'd be upset at her talking about Pony like he wasn't even there, but all I could think about was the fact that she was going to let Ponyboy stay. He wouldn't have to go back to that boy's home…at least until the hearing. And we could think about that when we came to it.
She gave Darry a packet of papers and a list of instructions to follow, mostly stuff on how to get Pony enrolled in school and when he'd need to see a doctor again and some other stuff I didn't pay attention to. I didn't care! He got to stay!
I squeezed his shoulders, holding him tight at my side as Darry talked to the lady who would be our new social worker.
